French leisure carrier Corsair, based in Paris Orly has just received the very first of 5 new A330neo aircraft which will modernise its fleet. Last year saw the retirement of its 747s which have now been replaced by an all Airbus A330 fleet. The airline has streamlined its network offering which once spanned the US…
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Hot on the heels of its Vantage Solo design (now being manufactured by Thompson Aero Seating), London-based Factorydesign has revealed details about its mid-market hybrid business class seat for narrow body long-haul aircraft. Trying to navigate the economics and ergonomics of a premium product on a narrow body aircraft proves one of the most difficult…
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Emirates is one of the last bastions of the A380. Thanks to its critical mass of the product, once vaccines take hold and confidence in travel returns, the airline will be well poised to offer luxury travel to the masses once again. The carrier already has an arsenal at its ready to help position itself…
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Uganda Airlines might not be on everyones radar. But that’s because until last week, the carrier just operated a modest fleet of four Bombardier CRJ900’s. Resurrected from its predecessor that last flew in 2001, the latest incarnation spread its wings a little over a year ago, but seemingly has big plans. With aircraft bought by…
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Vistara was one of the last airlines we covered pre-lockdown who received a brand new jet. The carrier’s 787 certainly showed this airline meant business and its latest arrival, a brand new Airbus A321neo shows Vistara is living up to its promises. The aircraft – which is part of a hefty order of 50 from…
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In the height of Covid-19, airlines are having to rapidly innovate and the fastest route to market is adapting products that airlines already have in their arsenal. While potentially the next few months could see the rebirth of the All-Business Class era once again – with nimble boutique style carriers appealing to those wanting to…
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The end of the month will see ANA welcome the addition of a range of new services at Haneda Airport Terminal 2’s international area. The airline has invested in passenger enhancements across the terminal including three new lounges, self-service baggage drops and enhanced security check procedures. While we won’t be seeing these bursting at the…
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Vistara, India’s latest full-service carrier, unveiled its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (a first for India), which touched down in Delhi on 29 February 2020. While the plane is Vistara’s 40th to join the fleet, as the rest of the fleet are narrow-body aircraft, this arrival also brought with it, the airline’s new cabin products for…
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This month sees Air France launch a new amenity kit with a brand new design for passengers travelling in its long-haul Premium Economy cabin. The airline regularly updates their kits, and this time they’ve decided to reflect the colder months across the Northern hemisphere right now, wrapping them up in a “padded” texture. This latest…
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If you’ve ever travelled within Europe (excluding on Turkish Airlines) you’ve probably flown what is dubbed Euro Business. It’s a fairly simple concept of the first few rows of an otherwise fairly normal narrow-body jet becoming the carrier’s Business Class, which comes with all the bells and whistles of a Business Class ticket, including priority…
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TheDesignAir is thrilled to announce the 2019 award winners as voted for by our esteemed judging panel and our readers. Year after year, we see more improvements and enhancements across the passenger experience, from narrow to wide bodies to lounges and airports around the globe. We showcase the 2019 winners here.
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The first of SAS’s A350s has officially entered its fleet and starting in January, the carrier’s passengers will be able to take flight on one of the most advanced aircraft in the skies featuring the newest livery featuring super huge silver billboard titles across the fuselage. Inside, the carrier has opted for the same paired…
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British Airways this week announced that it will take delivery of its first of 12 brand new 787-10 Dreamliner in January 2020, with its first route being Atlanta in February next year. It will be quickly followed by a further five Dreamliners in the same year. The four-class aircraft will feature the same exclusive eight…
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It looks like ANA and Japan Airlines are both working hard to improve their passenger experience. While ANA lunched the Room, JAL has also recently launched the upgraded cabin interior of their international Boeing 777-300ER aircraft fleet, extending tangerine’s “Infused Essence” design strategy that was developed for JAL’s newly acquired domestic A350-900(359) aircraft, which launched in…
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The airline industry has a history of records from fastest flight to longest flight, the highest to the biggest, there’s a list as long as an A340-600 of impressive stats and figures that celebrate the innovation and scientific advancements in the airline industry. For a sector celebrating a centenary this year its amazing how far…
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The first of Qantas’ upgraded A380s welcomed its first passengers yesterday on the London to Sydney route, delivering a radical new cabin enhancement for Australia’s national carrier’s largest aircraft. The multi-million dollar upgrade of their 12 superjumbo aircraft includes new seating across Business and larger Premium Economy cabins and a refresh of the aircraft’s First…
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Virgin Atlantic has just pulled back the drawstring on a series of eco-savvy amenity enhancements across its cabins. Naturally focussing on their Upper Class product, which has recently had an upgrade, there are a plethora of extra enhancements from socks to pyjamas. The hero of these enhancement is Virgin’s quirkily-named ‘Goodie bag’ which features REN…
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Today saw the official arrival of the British Airways A350. The aircraft which was meant to arrive on Friday was delayed due to the air traffic control and weather issues at Heathrow. However, today saw no sign of either of those. Under perfectly blue skies, British Airways wheeled out the new aircraft which in reality arrived…
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We are in awe by the latest developments at ANA (All Nippon Airways). The airline has just announced its collaboration with famed architect Kengo Kuma and leading British designers Acumen to roll out a total of twelve completely redesigned Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in time for the Tokyo 2020 games. The first redesigned (premium-heavy) aircraft will…
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While all eyes are currently on British Airways’s new A350-1000 aircraft, which will be the next big ‘thing’ for the IAG carrier, BA has also rolled out the next phase of its investment in its ‘World Traveller Plus’ premium economy product, with a range of new amenities for customers. Carolina Martinoli, British Airways’ Director of…
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It’s incredible that WestJet has already launched its 787 Dreamliner service to European hubs including Dublin, London Gatwick and Paris, but following the introduction of these new services, WestJet has now added a few little improvements to make the flight that little bit more memorable across WestJet’s global network. Celebrating WestJet’s authentic Canadian roots, that…
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French-born, but New York-raised, artisanal fragrance brand Le Labo is making its way into the new range of Delta’s Delta One TUMI amenity kits this month. Expanding their passenger experience reach and connecting ground and in-flight products, the range will also be housed in more than 50 Delta Sky Clubs later this year too. Delta will…
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Tonight saw Virgin Atlantic peel back the curtain on their exclusive new A350 cabin. The aircraft, which will enter the fleet this summer will initially fly on the prestigious Heathrow – New York JFK route, followed by Atlanta, and the rest of the existing 747 routes as the new aircraft starts to take over from…
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United Airlines‘ customers now have an opportunity to experience the ever-popular Sunday Riley products thanks to the upcoming roll-out of new amenity kits featuring what is frequently described as a ‘cult’ beauty brand. This new collection, In some stylish leather cases (in premium classes) will begin its roll-out later this month on board and the range…
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Brussels Airlines has just revealed a rebranding and repositioning of its in-flight product which will grace the skies on it’s A330 fleet starting in April. By investing 10 million euros per aircraft in a completely new Business Class, new Premium Economy and Economy Class the airline wants to offer a personal experience – dubbed ‘a…
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American Airlines has just introduced a new wave of amenity kits for passengers in its International First & Business, Transcon First & Business and International Premium Economy cabins. As with most airlines, American has teamed up with leading up-and-coming lifestyle and skincare brands. Coming on line mid February, the kits are designed in collaboration with This…
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There are two buzz words flooding the aviation space right now, one is personalisation and the other is health. So its no surprise some airlines are going to new levels to embrace these emerging trends in order to respond to consumer demands. Air France customers in economy and premium economy will be now able to…
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Virgin Atlantic has retrofitted the first of four Airbus A330-200s which joined the fleet from Air Berlin mid way through the year. The retrofit includes the installation of the airline’s famous Premium cabin, along with brand new Upper Class Suites and a refreshed look for Economy. The remaining three A330-200 refits are all expected to be…
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While all eyes are currently on Singapore Airlines’ A350 ULR service between Newark and Singapore, currently the world’s longest flight at over 18 hours, we take an exclusive behind the scenes look at one of the airlines’ latest A380s while it’s on the ground in Heathrow. You can see our other article on the aircraft…
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Today saw the launch of Air France’s new Economy and Premium Economy cabins, creating a ‘new’ travel experience on board its 15 Airbus A330s which will be refitted as from January 2019. We’ve always found Air France to offer a contemporary economy cabin product, however the traditional sea of blue and cream didn’t inject a sense…
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